Essential education reporting across America

Remote learning

Young students cast long shadows on the sidewalk as they head in for their first day of school.
From Chalkbeat New York Student & School Performance
New York state wants to rethink how it evaluates schools. Here’s what could change.
The public health crisis paused state testing, impacting how the state typically evaluates schools.
By Reema Amin
 
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From Chalkbeat New York Teaching & Classroom
NYC teachers union and Adams administration reach tentative deal on 5-year contract
The tentative deal with the United Federation of Teachers includes annual wage increases between 3% to 3.5% over five years. It follows the pattern of raises set by District Council 37.
By Reema Amin and Amy Zimmer
 
A young girl in a darkened room works in the light of a desk lamp. She is writing in a notebook. A laptop computer is open on her left. Behind her a string of Christmas lights hang over a red curtain.
From Chalkbeat New York Remote learning
NYC public schools go remote Friday due to pollution from wildfire smoke
High school students, those who attend schools that serve grades 6-12, and other alternative programs will shift to remote learning on Friday.
By Alex Zimmerman
 
A student wearing a mask on her face and a blue smock to cover her clothes uses brown paint on paper plates.
Teaching & Classroom Teaching & Classroom
COVID learning loss driven more by school and community factors than household ones, research finds
Students’ struggle to recover from pre-pandemic disruptions is also a cause for concern, the new report says.
By Kalyn Belsha
 
Someone’s hand types on a laptop as light shines through blinds onto the desk.
From Chalkbeat New York Teaching & Classroom
Sprawling device tracking project put on hold in New York City schools
The project involved counting up technology such as tablets, laptops, desktop computers, printers, and smartboards.
By Reema Amin
 
Students sit at a table with laptops.
From Chalkbeat New York Teaching & Classroom
More devices in classrooms leads more NYC teachers to use tech with instruction
The seismic shift that made devices more accessible to students than ever before has now pushed some teachers to fold technology more often into their lesson plans.
By Reema Amin
 
A young student wearing headphones and working on a laptop. The foreground is a close up of the child’s head with the laptop in the background.
From Chalkbeat New York Remote learning
NYC bought hundreds of thousands of devices for remote learning. Now they’re trying to track those devices — and all other school technology.
Although schools keep a record of devices, city watchdogs have criticized the education department for having no centralized system.
By Reema Amin
 
A crowd of students gathers outside a gray concrete high school building.
From Chalkbeat New York COVID and Schools
After COVID paused Regents exams, graduation rates for NYC’s English language learners surged
Data obtained by Chalkbeat suggests that the temporary policy change — first canceling the English Regents and then not requiring a passing score to graduate — made it easier for English language learners to earn their diplomas.
By Reema Amin
 
Several students sit at desks in a classroom with large windows.
From Chalkbeat Detroit Detroit Public Schools Community District
Detroit high school pivots to online learning following heavy flood damage
District officials expect repairs at Southeastern H.S. to be completed in two months.
By Ethan Bakuli
 
Two teachers sit at computers teaching virtual classes with headphones on.
From Chalkbeat New York Remote learning
Growing virtual learning program supplements thin course catalogs at NYC’s smallest schools
The initiative reaches roughly 1,500 students across 58 schools, with 23 separate courses.
By Michael Elsen-Rooney
 
A child with dark hair and a blue shirt wearing headphones watches a screen on a laptop while sitting.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Remote learning
Denver Online Elementary will close at the end of this school year, district officials said
The school opened last year as an alternative to in-person learning. Parents and teachers pleaded with district leaders to keep it open.
By Melanie Asmar
 
A person in a black shirt and beige pants bends over to pull something out of a net. The person is in a park, standing on yellow and orange leaves next to a stream.
From Chalkbeat New York Teaching & Classroom
Online learning, fieldwork IRL: NYC opens a new kind of hybrid high school
“For some students, going back to a building for a full day just didn’t feel like it was for them anymore,” the school’s principal said.
By Alex Zimmerman
 
A young girl works at a tablet in a gymnasium on an online tutoring platform.
COVID Stimulus COVID Stimulus
Schools across the U.S. have turned to Paper’s online tutoring. Some worry it’s falling short.
Educators and officials in districts that contracted with Paper say its text-based tutoring service often frustrates the students who need the most help.
By Kalyn Belsha
 
A teacher stands at the front of a classroom pointing at a white board as three rows of students look on.
Assessment and testing Assessment and testing
Struggling students hit harder, rebounding slower from COVID, research finds
The latest findings solidify a developing picture of schools struggling to support students who have fallen off track.
By Julian Shen-Berro
 
An illustration depicts two children’s faces along with several drawings of houses.
Diversity & Equity Diversity & Equity
Hidden toll: Thousands of schools fail to count homeless students
“The national conversation on homelessness is focused on single adults who are very visible in large urban areas. It is not focused on children.”
By Amy DiPierro, Center for Public Integrity and Corey Mitchell, Center for Public Integrity
 
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From Chalkbeat New York Charters & Choice
Where do Hochul and Zeldin stand on education?
There are still many open questions about how both would approach policy for schools.
By Reema Amin
 
An empty school hallway with beige walls and blue doors
From Chalkbeat New York Student & School Performance
Nearly 10% of NYC students were homeless last year, according to report
The share of students who were homeless has largely not budged even as public school enrollment has dipped by 9.5% since the pandemic.
By Reema Amin
 
Masked students sit in rows in a classroom, all wearing blue shirts and sweaters.
From Chalkbeat Detroit Student & School Performance
Michigan students are recovering slowly from pandemic disruptions
Researchers say it will take years to catch up; individualized instruction accelerates gains
By Tracie Mauriello
 
A student answers a question on a test using a pencil.
From Chalkbeat New York Assessment and testing
NYC test scores drop in math, increase in reading
The scores are the first measure of how students across the five boroughs have fared in reading and math since the coronavirus pandemic.
By Reema Amin
 
A young boy in a black and orange hoodie conducts virtual learning on his computer, sitting at a black partitioned desk.
Remote learning Remote learning
Schools scale back home internet help as remote learning fades
Far fewer schools are providing students with home internet assistance this year compared with earlier in the pandemic, according to new federal data.
By Patrick Wall
 
A calculator sits on a desk as students work in a math class at Southeastern High School in Detroit, MI. Photo by Anthony Lanzilote/Chalkbeat �June, 2019 photo�
Assessment and testing Assessment and testing
New test data: Young readers, middle school math students struggling
Students who struggled before the pandemic are having the toughest time catching up.
By Kalyn Belsha
 
A student views the Google Classroom screen on a laptop.
From Chalkbeat New York Remote learning
Attention ninth graders: Applications now open for NYC’s virtual high school
The city’s new virtual high school program could serve 200 ninth graders this coming school year.
By Marcela Rodrigues-Sherley
 
The hand of a student appears in front of a laptop screen, as they attempt to complete an attendance report for that day of virtual learning.
From Chalkbeat Detroit Detroit Public Schools Community District
Detroit district’s virtual school tightens rules to tackle absenteeism
Chronic absenteeism and academic failure have prompted the Detroit school district to tighten enrollment standards for the coming school year.
By Ethan Bakuli
 
Twins and high school seniors Dermot and Aidan McMillan do classwork from their home.
Remote learning Remote learning
Sticking around: Most big districts will offer virtual learning this fall, a sign of pandemic’s effect
At least half of the nation’s 20 largest school districts will offer more full-time virtual schooling this fall than they did before the pandemic.
By Kalyn Belsha and Matt Barnum
 
A teenage girl with braided hair takes notes while virtually learning at her desk.
From Chalkbeat New York Remote learning
NYC is launching two virtual schools with a catch: Ninth graders only for now
By Alex Zimmerman
 
Two students sit at a round table working on laptops and tablets, working on virtual lessons in Indianapolis, Ind.
From Chalkbeat Indiana Remote learning
Fewer virtual days expected in Indiana schools after state imposes limitations
As Indiana limits virtual learning, some districts will adjust how they handle school on snow days and on teacher training days.
By Aleksandra Appleton
 
A student works at a laptop in her room.
From Chalkbeat New York Teaching & Classroom
New York to increase weekly instruction for medically fragile students
By Reema Amin
 
High school students wearing masks sit several feet apart at desks in a classroom,
From Chalkbeat New York Assessment and testing
Proposal would make it easier for NY students to pass Regents exams
By Reema Amin
 
A teacher works with students over Zoom in her classroom.
From Chalkbeat New York David Banks
NYC to launch two ‘full-time’ virtual schools, top education officials say
‘I believe that virtual learning is here to stay whether or not we have a pandemic’ schools Chancellor David Banks says.
By Alex Zimmerman
 
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From Chalkbeat New York Teacher training
New York officials vote to scrap edTPA teacher certification exam
The pandemic helped drive the state’s decision to scrap the requirement, and follows reforms in recent years to teacher certification in New York.
By Reema Amin
 
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